by Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

by Dan Wolken, USA TODAY Sports

ORLANDO - Louisville can no longer be called the hottest team in the NCAA tournament, but the Cardinals are just as happy to grind their way back to the Sweet 16.

Despite a pair of close games and rough shooting performances from leading scorer Russ Smith, No. 4 seed Louisville advanced to the Midwest Regional semifinals on Saturday with a 66-51 victory against No. 5 seed Saint Louis that was closely contested until the final few minutes.

Louisville, which squeaked by 13th-seeded Manhattan 71-64 in the Round of 64, shot just 41% in the first half and committed 19 turnovers but survived by holding the Billikens to 0-for-15 from the three-point line and forcing 18 turnovers.

"I told the guys, you're going to have to be the prettiest team in an ugly game because that's the way it's gonna be," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "The emphasis we put on taking the three-point shot away was big, and we just wanted to grind out a 'W.' It's not every game you can play up and down, and (Saint Louis) will turn you over, grind you out, and they play everybody close. We were real proud of our effort defensively."

Though Louisville didn't look nearly as crisp as last week when it blew through the American Athletic Conference tournament, the Cardinals are still on track to make their third consecutive Final Four. They'll face the winner between No. 1 seed Wichita State and No. 8 seed Kentucky on Friday in Indianapolis.

Louisville led 25-16 after an ugly first half in which the teams combined for 21 turnovers and just 15 baskets. Though the Billikens at times looked like they didn't belong on the same court with the defending national champions, going 0-for-6 from the three-point line and making six field goals, the Cardinals didn't take advantage.

That allowed Saint Louis, which erased a 14-point deficit with five minutes left in the Round of 64 against N.C. State, to stay within striking distance and eventually take a 29-27 lead with 14:13 remaining as Louisville missed its first 10 shots of the second half.

But Smith, who made just three of 10 shots after going 3-for-9 against Manhattan, converted a runner out of the timeout to tie the game, seemingly energizing the Cardinals.

Then senior Luke Hancock, who struggled to make outside shots in the first half, drilled consecutive three-pointers to give the Cardinals a 41-35 lead with 10:51 left, taking steam out of Saint Louis' upset bid. Louisville followed with a 9-0 run, taking a 50-37 lead with 5:52 left. Hancock finished with 21 points.

"I think our defense got better in the second half," Smith said. "I think we just didn't want to go home, but we did a great job of responding. It wasn't the kind of run-out game we'd prefer, but we did a good job of converting and making opportunities."

Saint Louis' senior guards didn't play well enough to give them a legitimate chance at the upset. Mike McCall went 2-for-12 from the field, while Jordair Jett made just two of eight foul shots.

"We knew coming into the game this was a big three-point shooting team and a big duck-in team, so we knew if we took those two things away they'd have a hard time scoring the ball," Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell said.

The Billikens, who made their third consecutive NCAA Tournament, finished the season 27-7 but fell short of the program's first Sweet 16 bid. Louisville improved to 31-5.

"We went to a different type of zone, almost like a 1-1-3, to make sure there were no bumps where they could pop out and get a three," Pitino said. "At times we'd give up maybe a high post pass, but we were going to smother the three. We felt like if we gave up the three, we could get beat tonight so we tried to take that away." â??